Burkhart Claims First Supemoto Lites Title in Nasvhille

The first crown in the 2005 AMA Supermoto Championship fell tonight before a much- improved crowd and on a much-improved racetrack at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville, Tennessee.

Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Mark Burkhart gave the Yamaha brand its first AMA Supermoto Championship when he claimed his fifth win of the year in the Supermoto Lites class, thus clinching the inaugural AMA Supermoto Lites Championship as he remained undefeated in the class.

The 25-year-old Burkhart had the pole position for the 19-lap main event, but he got off the line second, slotting in behind Mach 1 Motorsports Yamaha rider Casey Yarrow. Burkhart’s main title rival, Team Currie/Troy Lee Kawasaki’s Brandon Currie, ran third. Yarrow led the race for a lap and a half before Burkhart steamed past on his factory-backed Yamaha YZ250F, taking the lead for good. Burkhart then slowly but surely pulled away, leaving Currie and Yarrow to duke it out for second place. Burkhart’s margin of victory was 12.278 seconds at the finish. The championship marked Burkhart’s first career AMA National title.

Currie came out on the better end of a clash with Yarrow in the banked left-hander that took the riders off the big, paved half mile stock car track and transitioned them onto the paved, infield quarter mile track, to finish second. Yarrow finished third, landing his first career AMA Supermoto podium finish.

Further up the AMA Supermoto ladder, in the marquis 450cc AMA Supermoto class, Red Bull KTM’s Jurgen Kunzel and Troy Lee Designs Honda’s Jeff Ward came away with a victory apiece in the two 19-lap Supermoto finals at Nashville. For Kunzel, the win in race one was his first in 18 AMA Supermoto starts. Though the German and former World Supermoto Championship runner-up has visited the podium 10 times in those 18 starts, this was his first time on top of it. Ward’s victory in race two was his fifth of the year, and it further solidified his series points lead as he heads to the final round of the series in Reno, Nevada, in search of his second career AMA Supermoto Championship crown.

Superpole winner Troy Herfoss grabbed the holeshot on his Pacifico/GP Husqvarna from the inside of row one in race one, with Red Bull KTM’s Kurt Nicoll beating Kunzel and Ward to turn one to take second place. Herfoss appeared as though he might escape, building a lead that was up to 3.6 seconds on Nicoll, who was clearly holding up Kunzel, while Ward struggled aboard his back-up machine in fourth. Kunzel finally ducked underneath Nicoll on lap five and ran down Herfoss. Kunzel then passed Herfoss on lap 12. Herfoss stayed close and tried to retaliate, but he lost the front end in a tight left-hander and crashed out of the race. That left Kunzel with a huge lead, the German crossing the line with 7.226 seconds in hand over Ward, who managed to pass Nicoll as they headed onto the banking of the speedway half mile’s turn one. Nicoll finished third.

Ward was much more effective aboard his repaired lead motorcycle in race two. He pulled the holeshot from the number three starting spot on row one and simply never looked back. Herfoss ran second after blowing past Nicoll down the back straight on the opening lap, and the young Australian appeared to be matching Ward’s pace early, but then Ward began to stretch his lead. It would swell to 7.189 seconds by the finish. Herfoss held on to finish second, while Nicoll finished third again. Kunzel was fourth after falling down while trying to pass Nicoll when the two entered the dirt section on lap 14.

Ward increased his series points lead over Kunzel, 218-187, heading into the Red Bull Supermoto A-Go-Go in Reno on October 1, in which the second Supermoto race will pay double points.

France’s David Baffeleuf earned his third AMA Supermoto Unlimited win of the year, piloting his HMC/Generations of Sonoma KTM to victory in the 19-lap final. Baffeleuf passed polesitter Troy Herfoss down the back straightaway on lap seven to take control of the race. Baffeleuf came under pressure from All Access KTM’s Micky Dymond after Dymond passed Herfoss for second place down the back straightway on lap 17. Dymond was able to negotiate lapped traffic a little more effectively than Baffeleuf, but he came up about one lap short of making a bid for the lead, Baffeleuf winning by 1.111 seconds.

HMC/Generations of Sonoma KTM’s Darryl Atkins finished fourth in the race, and now leads Dymond by a single point in the Supermoto Unlimited title chase, 98-97. Herfoss is another five points behind Dymond, with 92 points.